Forum for Urban Future in Southeast Asia Network of Southeast Asian and German Experts

In the last two decades, interest in urban heritage conservation has been growing in several cities of Indonesia. Central and local governments have undertaken ambitious programs for preservation and conservation of their heritage assets. However, after the earthquake shocked Yogykarta and some areas of Central Java in 2006, some cities have suffered technical and financial difficulties to realize urban heritage programs.

This paper is particularly dealing with practice innovations for urban preservation and conservation in risk cities. The study areas are Yogykarta (risk of earthquake exposed city), Solo (risk of flooding exposed city), Semarang (risk of inundation exposed city), and some inter urban regions (i.e. Ambarawa, Salatiga and Klaten).
Starting with the identification of urban heritage sites of each study area, rapid urban assessment and lessons learnt with the actors are conducted in order to understand the level of responsibilities for the government, proponents and members of a community. The appraisals are focused on social factors (i.e. city's image and identity), integration into day-to-day living and development of value systems for the community, the role of heritage in tourism and local economy, and its archeological and historical importance.
Based on a multidimensional analysis, the research identifies that there is important interest of and benefits obtained by the involvement of the people in the preservation and conservation processes. It is suggested that the process will be more sustainable and capable of being expanded in a manner corresponding to the magnitude and value off the region's heritage if those who benefit from it are also those who promote and pay for it.

Keywords: urban heritage, risk cities, lessons learnt

Mr. Djaka Marwasta
Department of Geography, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta
marwasta_d@hotmail.com

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Marwasta_How to preserve urban heritage in risk cities.pdf	15.76 MB